Ocean Artivist : Janina Rossiter
Janina ( pronounced Yaneena ) Rossiter , a . k . a . Nina , is an ocean artivist , conveying evocative conservation messages through her art . Having aspired to become a children ’ s book author at a young age , her stories and illustrations aim to instil a sense of ocean stewardship in children . She spoke to Suzanna Hayek about what triggered her to become an ocean conservationist .
All image credits : Janina Rossiter
Rossiter ’ s soft features and tied back blonde hair appeared on Zoom . Her living room in her home near Paris appeared . In the background , there was a large poster depicting a jellyfish , which had plastic bags on each of its tentacles , mounted on a board . It was a picture she illustrated for her book , “ 1,2,3 Who ’ s Cleaning the Sea ?” to raise awareness that sea turtles often mistaken plastic bags for jellyfish . Right next to it , a surfboard could be seen .
Rossiter explained that she had just shown the jellyfish board to children in a school in Singapore over Zoom , commenting how delighted she was that it has now become possible for her to reach schools across the world . Preferring to make a long-lasting impact on children ’ s environmental awareness , the multi-award winning children ’ s books author , illustrator , and artivist ( someone who uses art as activism ) only agrees to work with schools long-term – usually over a school year with several visits .
When Rossiter was in high school in her hometown of Hamburg , she chose to complete art training , although she did not feel encouraged to pursue art . There is widespread belief in Germany that you cannot make a living out of artistic endeavours . “ I think we are more aiming to become doctors , scientists , accountants , and marine biologists . And I think the art kind of is still a question of what you ’ re going to do afterwards . I think it ’ s very difficult to make money by being an artist ,” said Rossiter .
At the age of 17 , Rossiter lived in Louisiana in the USA as part of a foreign exchange programme . The art-valorizing culture she experienced there led her to study Communication and Illustration Design at university . “ I think living in the US for one year helped me to believe to go down that route , because in the US artistic work is so much more appreciated and also pushed in terms of a career ,” Rossiter explained .
Rossiter ’ s connection with the sea was born out of her love for swimming . “ I was a competitive swimmer since the age of four or five . When I swim , when I ’ m in the water , I feel like I can forget the world . And this is a little bit what also helps me now dealing with environmental issues , because sometimes that can get quite overwhelming .”
Growing up in Hamburg , Rossiter would cycle often – despite having a car – because of her heightened environmental conscience . “ I thought that I was living environmentally friendly ,
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